"I see."
Tanaka Masao echoed.
"Fujiwara-senpai's analysis is truly well-reasoned and supported by evidence. Could it be that you're actually a great detective?"
"That's right."
Fujiwara Chika puffed out her chest, her face filled with pride and self-satisfaction.
"I am the renowned Love Detective Chika."
"That has nothing to do with love, does it?"
"However, there was one thing that person just said that was incorrect."
Fujiwara Chika looked very serious.
"Which part?"
"He called us handsome and beautiful. I am beautiful, but where is the handsome man? Oh, this is just a common trick used by businessmen. Junior Tanaka, you should just listen to such words and never take them seriously."
Tanaka Masao looked at Fujiwara Chika, who was shrugging and shaking her head, and clenched his fists, gritting his teeth a little.
"Ahaha, Fujiwara-senpai is right. The most important thing for a person is to have self-awareness and not be deceived by others' sweet talk.
I understand, I understand that those are all just pleasantries."
Fujiwara Chika gave a thumbs-up.
"It's good that Junior Tanaka knows."
In response, Tanaka Masao thought to himself:
"I certainly know, I must remember Fujiwara-senpai's earnest teachings for the rest of my life."
"Fujiwara-senpai, thank you. I will definitely repay (get revenge on) you well."
"Why talk about repayment? Junior Tanaka is too polite. I didn't do anything, so there's no need to repay me."
Tanaka Masao showed his signature smile.
"Ehh, ehh, ehh, there must be a repayment. Come on, Fujiwara-senpai, let's start with our first activity to whet our appetites."
Fujiwara Chika grinned foolishly and was led into the darkroom by Tanaka Masao, completely off guard.
...
Ten minutes later.
Fujiwara Chika walked out of the darkroom, leaning against the wall and trembling. Her face was pale, as if she had experienced something extremely terrifying.
One hand was still tightly covering her mouth, as if there was something inside.
"Ugh, so intense, so scary. Is this what you meant by 'appetizer,' Junior Tanaka?"
She looked at Tanaka Masao with great resentment, only to find that his condition was even worse than hers, which instantly made her feel a lot better.
The ride they had just been on was similar to a carousel, but people were strapped upside down into the seats, and the rotation speed was extremely fast.
Tanaka Masao was right; this ride certainly whetted the appetite.
If she hadn't held back from opening her mouth, she would have thrown up last night's dinner.
"Junior Tanaka, say something."
"Say..."
As soon as Tanaka Masao opened his mouth, he almost threw up. He had originally intended to teach Fujiwara Chika a lesson.
But he didn't expect the ride to be so intense; he couldn't even handle it himself.
"I was so foolish, truly. I only thought about teaching Fujiwara-senpai a lesson, but I ended up dragging myself into it."
Seeing Tanaka Masao's half-dead state, Fujiwara Chika showed a gloating expression.
"Junior Tanaka, you're so lame. Can you even keep playing with me to the fullest today?"
Having mostly recovered, she even had the leisure to squat down and gently poke Tanaka Masao's stomach with her finger.
"Please, Fujiwara-senpai, don't move. It's going to come out..."
In the end, Tanaka Masao, relying on his incredibly strong willpower and biting strength, successfully averted a tragedy.
Otherwise, he would have definitely thrown up, getting his filth all over Fujiwara Chika and contaminating her.
After several minutes of recovery, Tanaka Masao finally let out a long breath.
Seeing Tanaka Masao recover and stand up again, Fujiwara Chika leaned forward and tilted her head, asking,
"Junior Tanaka, can we still continue playing?"
"Although my head is a bit dizzy and I feel nauseous, Masao doesn't give up."
Tanaka Masao wiped the corner of his mouth, his face filled with stubbornness and strength.
"It's just that the previous ride was a bit too extreme; no normal person could handle it. We'll be fine trying other things."
Fujiwara Chika hugged her arms, looking disgusted, and said with great disdain,
"Eww~, what 'Masao doesn't give up'? Junior Tanaka, that's so gross.
But since you still want to continue, I'll accompany you to the end. What's the next activity?"
Fujiwara Chika looked eager to try, even though she had also been very uncomfortable just now, but seeing Tanaka Masao's condition worse than hers, her confidence instantly soared.
"I'm actually quite amazing, aren't I?"
"If we're going to seek thrills, then let's see it through to the end!"
Tanaka Masao delivered an impassioned speech.
"Let's go play that one."
He pointed in a direction where there was a giant pendulum ride.
Amusement park rides that are fast and high usually require visitors to remove glasses, jewelry, and similar items.
The ride they just went on also had such a requirement, but because that ride was indoors, the lighting was dim, and visibility was poor.
So Fujiwara Chika hadn't clearly seen Tanaka Masao without his glasses.
Now she saw him clearly.
"Who are you? Why are you with me? Where's Junior Tanaka?"
"Fujiwara-senpai, I am your adorable Junior Tanaka."
"Liar! Junior Tanaka is a very distinctive person; he wouldn't be this unremarkable."
Saying this, Fujiwara Chika looked around and then said with some surprise,
"Ah, I found you, Junior Tanaka."
Tanaka Masao looked at Fujiwara Chika, who was holding his glasses, and his eye twitched uncontrollably.
"What, are my glasses my distinguishing feature? Are the glasses the real me?"
"Oh, don't be angry, Junior Tanaka. It's just that your glasses are too distinctive.
Without your glasses, Junior Tanaka just becomes an unremarkable background character."
Tanaka Masao's mouth twitched uncontrollably as he retorted,
"Fujiwara-senpai, are you really apologizing? Why do I feel even more offended?"
"Huh, am I?"
Fujiwara Chika looked a bit surprised. Was there something wrong with what she said?
Seeing Fujiwara Chika's innocent expression, Tanaka Masao sighed.
"A natural airhead is truly terrifying. She's indeed the woman known as the 'Cancer of the Earth.'"
Looking at Tanaka Masao sighing, Fujiwara Chika became a bit reserved.
"Sorry, Junior Tanaka, I'm not very good at reading the atmosphere; I just speak my mind. I didn't consider your feelings and might have hurt you."
Tanaka Masao's mouth twitched uncontrollably. What does she mean by 'just speak my mind'? Am I a narrow-minded person who can't handle the truth?
Just as he was about to say that he was very magnanimous and didn't care about this at all, he heard Fujiwara Chika say,
"Junior Tanaka, I don't know how to apologize. If you're angry, just hit me; I won't resist."
"But then again, while I am a magnanimous person and wouldn't care about such things, that doesn't mean others wouldn't.
What if Fujiwara-senpai accidentally angers a narrow-minded person? That wouldn't be good. So, I'll just give her a small lesson to help her remember this.
Hehe, Fujiwara-senpai, you're the one who asked me to hit you. Where should I hit?"
...
Meanwhile, Shinomiya Kaguya, who was diligently studying at home, sneezed several times in a row.
"I feel like someone is talking bad about me behind my back.
Oh well, I don't care. I need to study even harder. Just you wait, Fujiwara student, I will definitely defeat you."